Total pages in book: 161
Estimated words: 162269 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 811(@200wpm)___ 649(@250wpm)___ 541(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 162269 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 811(@200wpm)___ 649(@250wpm)___ 541(@300wpm)
Ry pushed that tome away, pulled another out from under one to his left, opened it at a marked page, and read.
“But the demons did not lose their purpose. And when the land was locked in turmoil, the Beasts would sleep. But when the land sought serenity, the Beasts would awaken. And those proclaimed would face the challenge. In victory, this homage to the goodness of the gods would make them rise. In defeat, the demons would kill the gods to become gods themselves and the realm of Triton would grow dark for eternity.”
He turned to another marked page.
“For the proclaimed would be born holding the power of the gods. And they would wield it. But the god would call his sacrifice. And he would have it. And then the power would be unleashed.”
“What sacrifice?” Farah whispered.
“You have all sacrificed along this journey, have you not?” Ry, catching her mood, said soothingly.
I sat, struck.
“Yes,” Farah answered.
“No,” I said.
They both looked at me.
“You…” Farah began, but she didn’t go on, for it was true. I hadn’t. Not like the rest of them. Then she said, “Aramus lost his man in Fire City.”
“Aramus did, but I barely knew him.”
I said these words at the same time I felt my blood run cold.
Farah reached a hand to me and murmured, “Ha-Lah.”
“Is there more about this sacrifice?” I asked G’Ry.
He shook his head. “That is the only mention of it, my dear.”
“You barely knew Aramus when you married,” Farah tried. “You didn’t get along.”
My eyes drifted to the window.
“You might not have known Aramus’s man, but your husband mourned his loss and he is a part of you,” Farah continued. “You definitely knew Jasmine. You—”
“Triton will require of me,” I whispered.
“Ha-Lah,” Farah curled her fingers around my forearm, “don’t say that.”
“I have not sacrificed for the prophecy,” I said tonelessly.
“There is but one note about it, my queen. We have already learned some of the words were written in error. Perhaps it means nothing,” Ry suggested.
I looked to him. “There is nothing in all of this that means nothing. We’ve righted wrongs. We’ve brought peace. And in doing so, brought forth the demons. To keep what we earned, we must sacrifice. And everyone has sacrificed, except me.”
Ry looked deep into my eyes and stated, “You know this is untrue.”
“I—”
“You are not your true self, even now. You do not live your whole life in hiding without sacrifice,” he declared.
“She knows I’m Mer,” I told him, referring to Farah.
“Well they,” he threw his arm to the window, “do not. Not yet. You will find victory, my queen, all of you will. And you will be written in the tomes as the Protectors. You and your people. You have helped them to rise again from the depths. To be known and seen. And I do not believe you did this without sacrifice.” He patted the table with his hand and finished, “Think not of this any longer. You need your wits about you.”
He was so very right.
I nodded.
I then glanced at Farah.
She squeezed my arm.
“The plan is set,” Ry stated, his voice firm. “We must drive them to Triton.”
“We must drive them to Triton,” Farah agreed.
I looked to the window.
And wondered where my husband was.
King Cassius
The Abyss, Fifteen Miles Down the Coast from Nautilus
MAR-EL
“If I was a god, this is not where I’d be,” Cassius muttered, staring down into the dark maw.
“The gnomes have reported?” Aramus asked him.
He looked to his friend, surprised at this abrupt question.
“They have. They track them. And the creatures are here,” he confirmed. “We simply await everyone’s arrival before we enact the plan.”
“And we have all, so far, successfully made Mar-el without them knowing we have sailed the sea?” Aramus pressed.
“As far as I know,” Cassius said, glancing at Ellie, who was patrolling the wide edge of the abyss along the sea, gazing into the hole, before turning fully to him. “My brother—”
“He is not at his full strength. I do not know what power he has, if any, that can help,” Aramus said. “And I have broken a vow every king of this realm has kept sacred that you even know he exists.”
“I’ve known Triton exists since I had conscious thought,” Cassius told him reassuringly. “Granted, I didn’t know where he dwelt, but I knew he existed.”
“He’s lonely,” Aramus murmured.
“We’re working on that,” Cassius said.
“They could come for him before we have our plan in place,” Aramus stated.
Cassius felt Elena’s gaze and looked to her.
She lifted her chin then moved away from the abyss, seeing to their mission there, which was to check the lay of the land, tighten their approach, understand what they had to work with before they had to work with it.
He watched her move farther away before he again gave his attention to Aramus.
“Would you like to tell me precisely what has you so uneasy?” he demanded low.